Seven Pillars of Wisdom · Chapter
XCIX explained
Lawrence prepares for the Deraa expedition, coordinating with Nuri Shaalan and Feisal at Jefer, guiding Buxton's Camel Corps through Rumm, and reflecting on his conflicted loyalties and weariness.
What happens
Lawrence prepares for the Deraa expedition, coordinating with Nuri Shaalan and Feisal at Jefer, guiding Buxton's Camel Corps through Rumm, and reflecting on his conflicted loyalties and weariness. The chapter includes a council with Rualla chiefs where Feisal and Lawrence inspire the tribes, and Lawrence's personal struggles with honor and duty.
Themes in this chapter
Honor and Deception
Lawrence grapples with his dishonorable half-bargain with Nuri Shaalan and the moral cost of exploiting Arab ideals for British ends.
Suffering and Endurance
Lawrence's physical and mental exhaustion is evident; he contemplates death and seeks escape from his inner turmoil.
Futility and Meaning
Lawrence questions the meaning of his sacrifices and the value of honor, feeling trapped between instinct and reason.
Characters to notice
- T.E. Lawrence
Narrator and guide; reflects on his exhaustion, moral dilemmas, and role in exploiting Arab ideals for British war aims.
- Emir Feisal
Leads the council with Rualla chiefs, inspiring them with speeches on nationality and sacrifice; works with Lawrence to win over the tribes.
- Nuri Shaalan
Old Rualla leader who joins Feisal and Lawrence at Jefer; Lawrence fears he will claim a dishonorable bargain, but Nuri does not mention it.
- Colonel Buxton
Commands the Camel Corps; Lawrence guides his force through Rumm, noting his patience and Arabic skills.
- Auda abu Tayi
Not directly present but referenced through the Howeitat tribesmen in the region.
- Zaagi
Leads Lawrence's bodyguard of sixty men, sorting them in Ageyl fashion and organizing poets and singers for the ride.
Key passages
“I was busy compartmenting-up my mind, finding instinct and reason as ever at strong war. Instinct said 'Die,' but reason said that was only to cut the mind's tether, and loose it into freedom: better to seek some mental death, some slow wasting of the brain to sink it below these puzzlements.”
Lawrence felt torn between his instinct to die and his reason, which argued that death would merely free his mind; he thought it better to seek a gradual mental decline to escape his confusion.
Lawrence's internal conflict and suicidal thoughts during the flight to Jefer.
“We English, who lived years abroad among strangers, went always dressed in the pride of our remembered country, that strange entity which had no part with the inhabitants, for those who loved England most, often liked Englishmen least.”
Englishmen abroad clung to the pride of their homeland, which felt disconnected from the locals; those who loved England deeply often disliked its people.
Lawrence reflects on the alienation of English expatriates and his own conflicted identity.